


It's a thin, thin line

by Tiofrean



Category: The Walking Dead (TV)
Genre: Alternate Universe - No Zombie Apocalypse, Daryl Loves Him Anyway, Established Relationship, Hand Jobs, M/M, Mechanic!Daryl, Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder - PTSD, Rick is a dumbass, Sheriff!Rick
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-12-29
Updated: 2017-12-29
Packaged: 2019-02-23 18:43:44
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,456
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13196253
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Tiofrean/pseuds/Tiofrean
Summary: Rick was mumbling something, his body hunched over the countertop, arms braced wide against it. As Daryl stood there, he could clearly smell the alcohol in the air, the bitter tang of beer which Rick was positively reeking with. Daryl took a step closer, but before he could open his mouth and ask Rick what he was doing, Rick swiped his hand right, then left, sending everything that was standing on the countertop flying to the floor.Daryl knew Rick would never hurt him. It didn't stop him from leaving Rick on the kitchen floor when his lover pushed the wrong button and triggered him.





	It's a thin, thin line

**Author's Note:**

> I had this idea... had to write it out. I guess the Christmas spirit really got into me. 
> 
> Have a great New Year, everyone! It's almost here <3

Daryl couldn’t sleep.

It was two in the morning, he had an old, rusty pickup truck to take care of in six hours, and he should really be counting z’s right now, but he just couldn’t fall asleep. Rick wasn’t home yet, and in the five months they had been together, that had only happened once. Carl, Rick’s son, had gotten shot back then, and Rick had called Daryl from the hospital as soon as he could. This time, though, Rick had only texted him that he would be back later and that had been it.

And now Daryl tossed and turned, tired and irritated, yet still unable to even doze off. It was as if the absence of Rick made a grown ass man incapable of sleeping. _Ridiculous_.

On his upteenth turn, Daryl froze, hearing a noise coming from somewhere in the house. He listened intently… _there it was_. The door shutting, footsteps following… clumsy, dragging footsteps. Daryl frowned and got out of bed. He walked silently - years of hunting and living with his fucked up father had given him a lighter step. Before he even had a chance to walk into the kitchen, there was a crash and a loud curse, and Daryl’s frown deepened. He stepped into the kitchen and squinted his eyes in the glaring light.

Rick was there, standing with his back to Daryl, a broken glass shattered on the floor, water sinking into the wood.

Rick was mumbling something, his body hunched over the countertop, arms braced wide against it. As Daryl stood there, he could clearly smell the alcohol in the air, the bitter tang of beer which Rick was positively reeking with. Daryl took a step closer, but before he could open his mouth and ask Rick what he was doing, Rick swiped his hand right, then left, sending everything that was standing on the countertop flying to the floor.

“Rick!” This time, Daryl shouted. Rick froze, then turned around. His face was puffy and his eyes were unfocused and Daryl had to swallow hard when memories he had worked hard on burying came right back to the surface.  
“Daryl?” Rick’s voice was raspy when he said his name, and Daryl winced. He had never seen Rick in a state like this, not even after his birthday party.

Rick moved, taking a few steps in Daryl’s direction, cowboy boots walking over shattered glass, the crunching noise making Daryl’s stomach churn. Rick walked up to him and Daryl watched warily when he raised his arms as if he was trying for a hug. That was a bit too much for Daryl - Rick’s unfocused eyes, the smell of beer in the air, the way Rick’s hips swayed with every unsteady step… Daryl jumped back at the last moment, sending Rick crashing into the floor with a loud grunt. Once he landed, he turned to face Daryl, gaze confused and mouth opened in surprise. Daryl blinked down at him, scoffed and turned around, marching to the bedroom. He tried not to think too much as he closed the door behind him with a resounding bang.

 

-&-

 

Daryl’s dad had been a mean drunk. He had come home three sheets to the wind more often than not, doing a sequel of the bar brawl in their own kitchen. At first Daryl had run, then he had stopped. _There had been nowhere to go._ Not really. The room he had shared with Merle had been a safe haven for some time, but even that had gotten ruined. Lashes, fists, belts… There had been enough potential weapons in their old, run-down house to keep his old man entertained for a long time.

Daryl shivered, shaking his head. Rick had never been like this. He had never been mean to Daryl, he had never raised his hand on Daryl… He hadn’t as much as shouted two words in Daryl’s direction, to be honest.

Daryl frowned, turning on the bed and facing away from the door. It wasn’t that he was scared of Rick. He could take on a man two times Rick’s size, police training notwithstanding. _So why was he feeling so restless and twitchy?_ Daryl knew why, but it was a lot harder to actually say it aloud. He knew that smelling the beer and seeing Rick in such a state had been a bit too much for him. He had read somewhere about PTSD, he knew what was happening. But the knowledge didn’t really help to calm his breathing and stop his hands from shaking.

Daryl breathed in and out slowly, intent on cooling down a little. He closed his eyes and fisted his hand in the comforter. If Rick wanted to come up and talk to him, he thought he could do this.

Breathe in, breathe out.

His fingers unclenched and he forced his muscles to relax.

 

-&-

 

The morning came slowly, the brightness hitting Daryl even through his closed eyes. He groaned and shifted away from the sun, opening his mouth to ask Rick why the fuck hadn’t he closed the blinds the night before…

Right. _Rick._

Daryl sat up so abruptly, the whole bed shook with the movement. He threw a glance to the spot next to him, but the pillows were just as he had left them the previous evening. Cursing, he got out of bed and padded out of the bedroom, feet silent when he crossed the corridor, heading to the living room.

Rick was lying on the couch, curled up under Daryl’s winged vest, dressed only in his blue boxers. Daryl could tell he was cold - the whole room was fucking freezing and it even made Daryl shiver, despite the fact that he was wearing a pair of rather warm sweats and a t-shirt. He looked to the window, seeing it open just a crack and cursed. He walked to it quickly and closed it a bit louder than intended.  
“Daryl?” Rick asked, voice scratchy. Daryl turned slowly, eyeing him.

Rick’s hair was plastered to one side of his head, his eyes barely open, puffy and red-rimmed. He yawned and propped himself up, groaning as he went, trying to straighten himself up. It took a moment, but he was finally sitting on the couch, tugging the vest closer around him to keep the heat from escaping. Daryl frowned and took a few steps, coming closer.  
“Hungover?” He asked, eyes softening when he saw Rick rub at his temple and then run one hand over his face.  
“I didn’t drink that much” Rick mumbled, propping his elbows on his knees and looking up at him. “You okay?”

Daryl frowned, sitting next to Rick on the couch.  
“I’m sorry for yesterday” Rick murmured, looking down at his hands. “I should’ve… I should’ve called you or something. Or tell you what happened…”  
“Yeah. Comin’ back drunk off yer ass ain’t a nice move” Daryl scoffed but Rick shook his head.  
“I had two beers.”  
“Man, ya were reekin’ of it” Daryl gruffed out, eyeing Rick.  
“My clothes were” Rick nodded his head at the pile of clothes that Daryl noticed only now, balled up under the table. “A guy in the pub spilled his and my beer all over me” Rick huffed out a quiet laugh, but it died quickly.

Daryl nodded. He had to admit that with the clothes gone, he could no longer smell the beer all over Rick.  
“Why tha’ state, then?”  
“We had a call yesterday…” Rick swallowed and looked to the side, gaze focusing somewhere near Daryl’s feet. “Shane went in, I backed him up… There was a kid. A teenager, maybe fifteen or so? He had a gun. He fired at Shane…” Rick brought his hands to his face, heaving in a breath. The air left him after a moment, and the way he curled up made it look as if every escaping particle clawed at him from inside just before it left him.

“He missed. Shane ducked under a table. I fired at the kid…” Rick broke off and Daryl didn’t really need him to finish. He knew Rick never missed, not when he was firing his Python.

“Come ‘ere” Daryl murmured, wrapping his arm around Rick’s shoulders and tugging him closer. Rick’s whole body was shaking, from cold or memories, Daryl couldn’t tell, but he still squeezed him tightly to his side. “Why didn’t ya come to bed?”  
“Thought… thought you needed space” Rick mumbled into Daryl’s t-shirt, turning slightly, hands sneaking around Daryl’s waist so he was holding him. “You told me about your father” Rick’s voice was still muffled by the fabric, but Daryl could hear the words clearly. “I knew what happened as soon as you stormed outta here. Thought you needed some space” he explained, pressing closer into Daryl, his chilled body instinctively looking for heat.  
“Thought ya were pissed drunk” Daryl responded, tangling his fingers in Rick’s hair, getting a quiet hum in reward.  
“I couldn’t get drunk. It just… didn’t work. So I came home” Rick went on and Daryl frowned.  
“Why d’ya open the window and undressed to nothing? Ya wanna get sick or somethin’?”  
“Didn’t want to smell like beer…”  
“We have blankets, ya know?”  
“Yeah” Rick nodded, “in the bedroom. _And you needed space._ ”

Daryl groaned, pulling away and grabbing Rick by his shoulders, forcing his man to look at him.  
“Yer a dumbass, Rick” Daryl growled and stood up, pulling Rick with him. He marched them both to the bedroom and pushed Rick on the bed, crawling after him and dragging the covers over the both of them.  
“Don’t you have work in an hour?” Rick asked, raising an eyebrow at him. Daryl paused and squinted at Rick, reaching for his phone.  
“Nah, I don’t” He typed in a quick message and sent it, throwing the phone back on the bedside table, before he landed next to Rick and tucked them both in.

Rick immediately turned to face him and Daryl couldn’t really help himself. He leaned in and kissed Rick softly, humming when Rick’s hands fisted in his t-shirt as if he was afraid Daryl would stop. Daryl didn’t. He just kept kissing Rick lightly, letting his hands travel over Rick’s body to try and rub some warmth into the chilled flesh. When Daryl’s fingers grazed the small of his back, Rick gasped, and Daryl used the chance to slip his tongue into Rick’s mouth.

Daryl’s phone pinged somewhere in the background, but they both ignored the noise, too caught up in how the space under the covers started to get warmer with every touch. But Rick was still shivering, so Daryl pulled away gently, looking at him.  
“Turn ‘round” he whispered and Rick nodded. It took him a few seconds to actually let go of Daryl’s t-shirt, and when he finally did, it was just to let Daryl take it off completely. Rick licked his lips taking in all the skin on display, but turned around obediently, sighing when Daryl spooned up behind him. He pressed close, wrapping both arms around Rick’s chest, feeling how Rick’s breath caught.

Rick let out a hiss and relaxed into Daryl, body arching back and molding to Daryl’s shape. It still mesmerized him how well they fit together. If Rick had been one for clichées, he would say that they were meant for each other, two halves of one apple and such… but as it was, he just groaned and shifted, getting comfortable in Daryl’s embrace. The hands on Rick’s chest moved, two spots of heat, rubbing up and down, fingers playing with the hair on his chest, making him shiver for a whole different reason. Daryl kept him pressed securely to his own body, hot as a furnace, tearing a moan out of Rick when he felt the heat seeping into his own cold flesh. The warmth was intoxicating, lulling Rick into that fuzzy state where he was half-asleep, keeping his brain working only because Daryl’s hands skimmed lower on his abdomen.

Every little touch of Daryl’s fingers sent delicious sparks shooting through Rick’s nervous system and when those fingers slipped under the waistband of his boxers, he let out a moan, arching his neck and pushing his head back. Daryl shifted behind him, lips appearing on Rick’s shoulder and pressing there, smearing saliva over the sensitive skin, before Daryl licked it up, kissing the spot again. His hands were busy, too, tugging the boxers just low enough to free Rick’s cock, more than half hard by now. Rick thought that Daryl would wrap his palm around him, maybe lick it first to get it wet, jerk him off, make it _dirty_ … He loved it when Daryl got like that, when he sometimes acted as if separating himself from Rick just for long enough to retrieve the lube was unthinkable.

But Daryl surprised him, changing directions, hands getting back to their spot on Rick’s abdomen. They rubbed down, following the V of his hips and back up, fingertips pressing gently into the skin.  
“Daryl” Rick breathed out, throwing one arm back, hand landing on Daryl’s thigh.  
“Shh…” Daryl whispered right into his ear, before he nibbled at the shell, lips leaving a wet trail as he went lower, sucking the earlobe into his mouth. Rick groaned, arching back on instinct, ass pressing into Daryl’s hips. He could feel that Daryl was definitely on the same page, his length hard and hot through the layer of cotton, nestled neatly against Rick’s crack.

And then the hands on his abdomen finally stopped their rubbing and Rick licked his lips in anticipation. One hand flattened out just under his belly button, fingers splayed widely and keeping Rick tightly in place, while the other sneaked lower, wrapping around his cock, now fully hard and waiting. Daryl gave him one long, tight stroke, just enough to make Rick open his mouth, letting out a quiet gasp. The fingers around him loosened quickly, though, and Rick almost whined, hips trying to buck into Daryl’s fist, but Daryl held him fast, squishing him against his own abdomen. Daryl’s hand moved over Rick’s cock slowly, fist loose enough to be a tease, _loose enough to drive Rick mad with want._

Rick whimpered softly when Daryl moved his hand even lower, leaving his shaft to cup his balls gently. He rolled them around, tugging a bit, extending his middle finger to rub just behind them. Rick moaned, hips straining into the touch helplessly, as he turned his head as far as he could. He looked at Daryl from the corner of his eye, licking his lips again and then Daryl was shifting, moving, withdrawing the hand keeping Rick in place and propping himself up on his elbow, forearm still jammed under Rick’s body. Daryl kissed him and Rick could feel all the passion Daryl felt in this kiss, in the way Daryl’s tongue dove deep into his mouth, in the way his teeth caught Rick’s bottom lip and bit down on it. Rick brought his hand up, fisting it in Daryl’s hair and tugging on it, and Daryl growled, the sound traveling straight to Rick’s cock.

This time, when Rick’s hips canted forward, a slow rocking motion that he couldn’t really stop, Daryl didn’t try to hold him down. Rick whined when Daryl’s hand left him completely and leaned back, breaking the kiss. Daryl kept his eyes focused on Rick even when he brought his hand to his mouth and licked it, making it wet. Rick’s breath caught in his chest and he watched mesmerized, eyes following Daryl’s tongue when he repeated the motion. Daryl knew every dirty trick that made Rick tremble with desire and was apparently intent on doing just that. And then, Daryl moved his hand back down, fisting it around Rick’s cock tightly, setting an even rhythm that was a sure way to make Rick see stars.

“Ahhh… _Christ_ ” Rick moaned out, closing his eyes again and arching back, pushing his ass into Daryl’s cock. He could feel how Daryl rutted against him, how heavy his breathing got with every passing second. The hand on his length was relentless, thumb swiping over the head on every second pass or so, tearing little whimpers out of him. Rick was close, Daryl’s warmth seeping into him was pooling at the base of his spine, flaring out and making his skin tingle. He just needed one last push, one last _something_ and he would be done. Rick tethered on the edge, suspended in time, the only things he was capable of focusing on were Daryl’s hands on him and the insistent rocking of Daryl’s hips against his ass.

Rick gave a small whine, asking Daryl wordlessly to finish him off before he lost his damn mind. He was heard, loud and clear, and Daryl moved again, laying himself back down behind Rick, pressing their bodies together from head to toe. The hand on Rick’s cock sped up, the other sneaking around Rick’s waist to hold him in place. The gesture felt so possessive, the little growl accompanying it just on the right side of _dangerous_ to fry Rick’s brain, and when Daryl brought his lips back to Rick’s shoulder and _bit him_ , Rick finally fell over the edge.  
“Oh fuck… _Daryl!_ ” Daryl’s name was a whimper, dragged out from somewhere deep inside Rick’s chest, his muscles tensing. He spilled over Daryl’s hand which kept moving, milking him until his vision whitened out a bit.

Rick gave a faint mewl when his oversensitive flesh protested the touch and Daryl let him go, only to bring his hand back and push it into his own sweats. Rick felt him move, his fist working under the cotton, knuckles brushing against Rick’s ass cheek. Rick wanted to move and help him, but his bones had turned to jelly sometime this morning and he couldn’t really do more than scratch at the nape of Daryl’s neck with one hand thrown back.

Daryl stilled, Rick’s name falling like a mantra from his lips, quiet and soft, breathed into Rick’s skin. And then he was coming, too, jerking erratically, hips rocking out of rhythm. He fell silent after that and Rick kept threading his fingers through his hair blindly, enjoying Daryl’s gasping breaths fanning over his shoulder. The room went quiet around them, their heavy breathing the only sounds surrounding them.

Daryl’s arms wrapped back around Rick’s waist, still sticky with their come, but Rick didn’t mind. He brought his own hands to Daryl’s wrists and held on, sighing and relaxing against his lover.  
“I love you” he whispered and felt Daryl’s arms tighten in response. Rick smiled, and closed his eyes, dozing off. They could clean up later… Daryl seemed to agree if the way he held onto him was anything to go by. It didn’t look like he wanted to get up to take a shower anytime soon.

That thought, however, brought Rick back to the present.  
“Daryl?”  
“Mhm?” It was a low hum, half-sleepy already.  
“What time do you start today?” Rick could feel Daryl tense as soon as the words left his lips. There was a beat of silence and then, Daryl was moving, stretching one arm over Rick to get to the phone he had left on the bedside table. He snatched it and fell back down, unlocking it and reading something.  
“Oh _fuck_ ” Daryl groaned, closing his eyes and throwing his phone on the covers. He shifted close to Rick again and pushed his face between Rick’s shoulder blades.  
“Bad?” Rick asked, tentatively. Daryl nodded, then shook his head.  
“Dunno” he mumbled against Rick’s skin. Rick frowned, reaching for the phone and reading the thread of messages with Dale - the owner of the shop Daryl worked in as a mechanic.

 

 

_\- May be late. Rick’s an idiot_

_\- Don’t worry. Take a day off and take care of your boyfriend ;)._ _  
_

 

 

Rick couldn’t help himself - he giggled, putting the phone down on the table again. It earned him a growl from Daryl and a bite on the shoulder.  
_“Stop that”_ Rick demanded, turning around and smacking Daryl’s shoulder playfully. Daryl eyed him, biting his lip, before he leaned in and kissed Rick, who melted into him instantly. Daryl shifted, pushing Rick on his back and crawling over him, straddling Rick’s thighs.  
“Daryl…” he breathed out, breaking the kiss. “You can’t be serious” Rick looked suggestively between them, but Daryl just smirked.  
“Have a day off… might as well use it” he murmured, kissing down Rick’s chest. “Need ta make sure yer warmed up after that night.”

When they finally got to the shower, _much_ much later, Rick was warmed up enough to let the water run cold.


End file.
